Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Using Flipboard Magazines

Since the introduction of Flipboard, it has become an indispensable app on my devices. I use it throughout the day to follow news and events, and I covered this on the blog last July (see Tech Tuesday - Flipboard, from 10 July 2012). In March, Flipboard released Version 2.0, enabling users to create their own magazines. This post describes some of the ways one can use Flipboard, including some for stories related to family history and genealogy.

When Flipboard introduced this feature, I began using it to curate a magazine called Connaissance ("knowledge" in French). The sub-heading for this magazine is "Internet Coordination". I tend to focus on articles, photos and stories related to my primary field. An example cover is below:

Over time I wanted to "flip" (meaning, save for later or curate to the magazine) articles and photos beyond the broad topic of Internet & tech-related issues. This week I launched a new "title", called Ezagutza, which means "knowledge" in Basque. This title is a nod to my Vasquez and Suastegui ancestors, but keeps the theme as a connection to my underlying view that the Internet is the world's greatest platform for knowledge.

As I begin to use this new title, I expect the focus to be primarily on articles, stories and photos with a connection to genealogy, history, travel and art. This will allow Connaissance to focus on Internet, tech, security, governance, ecological economics & big data, and of course, some travel connected to upcoming meetings.

The cool part is that these and other magazines can now be viewed on the web in addition to phones and tablets. Creating a magazine within the Flipboard app is easy - look for the [+] symbol to "flip" stories and curate your own.